caa a22 4500 445819960 CHVBK 20180317145241.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20111201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00338-011-0772-0 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00338-011-0772-0 Depth-related variation in epiphytic communities growing on the brown alga Lobophora variegata in a Caribbean coral reef [Elektronische Daten] [A. Fricke, T. Titlyanova, M. Nugues, K. Bischof] Lobophora variegata is a dominant macroalga on coral reefs across the Caribbean. Over the last two decades, it has expanded its vertical distribution to both shallow and deep reefs along the leeward coast of the island of Curaçao, Southern Caribbean. However, the ecological implications of this expansion and the role of L. variegata as a living substratum are poorly known. This study compared epiphytic algal communities on L. variegata blades along two depth transects (6-40m). The epiphytic community was diverse with a total of 70 species of which 49 were found directly attached to L. variegata. The epiphytic community varied significantly between blade surface, depth and site. The greatest number of genera per blade was found growing on the underside of the blades regardless of site and depth. Filamentous red algae (e.g. Neosiphonia howei) were commonly found on the upperside of the blades over the whole depth gradient, whereas the underside was mainly colonized by calcifying (e.g. Hydrolithon spp., Jania spp., Amphiroa fragillissima), fleshy red algae (e.g. Champia spp., Gelidiopsis spp., Hypnea spinella) and foliose brown alga (e.g. Dictyota spp.). Anotrichum tenue, a red alga capable of overgrowing corals, was a common epiphyte of both blade surfaces. L. variegata plays an important role as a newly available substratum. Thus, its spread may influence other algal species and studies of benthic macroalgae such as L. variegata should also take into consideration their associated epiphytic algal communities. Springer-Verlag, 2011 Deep coral reef nationallicence Curaçao nationallicence Macroalgae nationallicence Phase shifts nationallicence Turf algae nationallicence Anotrichum tenue nationallicence Fricke A. Coral Reef Ecology Group (CORE), Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany aut Titlyanova T. A. V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevskogo 17, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia aut Nugues M. Coral Reef Ecology Group (CORE), Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany aut Bischof K. Department of Marine Botany, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359, Bremen, Germany aut Coral Reefs Springer-Verlag 30/4(2011-12-01), 967-973 0722-4028 30:4<967 2011 30 338 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0772-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0772-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Fricke A. Coral Reef Ecology Group (CORE), Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Titlyanova T. A. V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevskogo 17, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Nugues M. Coral Reef Ecology Group (CORE), Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Bischof K. Department of Marine Botany, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359, Bremen, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Coral Reefs Springer-Verlag 30/4(2011-12-01), 967-973 0722-4028 30:4<967 2011 30 338 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer